Few sights say more about the end of a political career than a politician vacating his office.
On Dec. 8, one of Arizona's longest-serving lawmakers packed his belongings in cardboard boxes, descended the stairs of the Senate and loaded them onto his car.
But Senate President Bob Burns' departure reveals something more.

A measure that would allow Arizona lawmakers to serve an unlimited number of terms in office appears dead in the Legislature, even though most lawmakers have said they want to repeal the term limits provision in the state's Constitution.

The House March 23 gave preliminary approval to a trio of measures that would ask voters to lengthen legislative terms, temporarily suspend protections of some spending and give lawmakers control of billions of dollars of federal money.

A proposal to ask voters to overturn term limits has overcome the first of many hurdles after a Senate panel approved it on Jan. 19. The committee voted 4-2 to send the bill to the Senate floor for a vote by the entire body.

A controversial constitutional amendment that limits the length of time that lawmakers can stay in office will force more than one-third of the senators out of their chamber by the end of next year, a massive revamp unprecedented in recent years.

Looking for supporters of term limits? Good luck finding any at the Capitol. Many who actively worked to change the state's Constitution nearly two decades ago say the rules harm the political process and need to be scrapped.